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Chamber honors region's scholars

By Katina Caraganis , kcaraganis@sentinelandenterprise.com

Updated:
05/11/2013 07:03:17 AM EDT

SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE / STEVE SHERIDAN
Robert Wright stood in for his cousin, Cynthia Messina (seen on poster), who received the Elizabeth and Anthony DiGeronimo Family Scholarship at the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce Scholarship Breakfast at the Four Points by Sheraton in Leominster Friday morning. Messina, of Nashoba Valley Technical High School in Westford, was taking a standardized test.

LEOMINSTER -- Cynthia Messina, a senior at Nashoba Valley Technical High School, has always been close to her cousin, 15-year-old Robert Wright.

So when Wright suffered a severe brain injury at age 5, Messina, then 8, decided she wanted to do something to help.

With the assistance of her baby sitter, she picked out her favorite books, set up a video camera and recorded herself reading them. When she reached the end of a page, she would make a beeping noise to alert Wright it was time to turn his page.

Because of that, doctors told Wright's family, many of his fine motor and cognitive skills developed strongly.

Messina described that incident, and the close relationship the pair have shared over the years, in her essay for the annual North Central Mass.

SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE / STEVE SHERIDAN
Twenty-three area high-school seniors were given a total of $46,000 in education awards at the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce Scholarship Breakfast at the Four Points by Sheraton in Leominster on Friday.

Chamber of Commerce Scholarship Breakfast.

She received a $2,000 grant from the Elizabeth and Anthony DiGeronimo Family Scholarship, and will attend Fitchburg State University in the fall, where she will be studying graphic design.

Wright said he did not know he was the subject of the essay until two weeks ago.

"I just couldn't believe it," he said. "It meant a lot to me to know what she had done. We're more like brother and sister than we are cousins."

Messina is an only child, and Wright has much older siblings.

After suffering a head injury as a child, Wright was flown by medical helicopter to Children's Hospital in Boston, where he was in the intensive-care unit.

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His prognosis was grim at the beginning, Messina's mother, and Wright's aunt, Barbara Heywood, said.

"He was near death. Nobody knew what was going to happen," she said.

Wright said that despite a slight limp, he has made a full recovery and appreciates every day what his cousin did for him years ago.

"She's a sister to me. If she ever needs help, I'll be there for her," he said.

Messina could not be at Friday's breakfast at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel in Leominster because she was taking an Advanced Placement test. Wright accepted the award on her behalf, and a life-size cardboard cut-out of Messina, dressed as a character from the television show Dr. Who, was placed on stage in her place.

The Chamber Foundation awarded 23 scholarships, at $2,000 apiece, to local high-achieving high-school students. Many awards are made possible through gifts and endowments.

More than 60 applications were submitted this year. All personal data about the student, including his or her name, high school and any other identifying factors are blacked out. Each application is ranked on a scale, and the top 24 are awarded scholarships.

Dave McKeehan, president of the chamber, said during Friday's breakfast that every candidate who applied was worthy of a scholarship.

"We're really excited about this. We have a lot of people to honor this morning here in this room," he said.

Fitchburg State University President Robert Antonucci also praised the work of all students, saying they had a lot to be proud of and a lot to look forward to as they embark on their college careers.

"Study hard. Be energetic. Do the best you can, and be sure to come back here when you're done," he said.

Vana Xiong, a senior at Fitchburg High School who plans to study international relations at the University of Richmond in the fall, received the Chamber Golf Tournament Scholarship. In her application essay, she wrote about the sacrifices her parents and grandparents made in leaving war-torn Vietnam in the 1970s.

Xiong felt as though she was trapped between the traditions of her Vietnamese culture and her desire to be a strong and independent female in the states.

"Ambition is a must. I know more than ever what my education will provide me: Opportunity," she wrote.

One of 10 children, Xiong said the expectations she put on herself to make her family proud were immense. Receiving money to help with college through the golf scholarship was more than she could imagine.

"This is really helpful going forward in college. I never expected to be in the running for one of these, and it definitely helps a lot," she said.

Stephanie Atteridge, who attends Fitchburg High School and will be studying at Wentworth Institute of Technology this fall, echoed those sentiments, saying that every little bit helps in paying for tuition.

"Every little bit from wherever I can get it will help substantially," she said, while noting that her 28-year-old sister is an inspiration for everything she has done in life.

"My sister is a single mom and she takes care of her child and works and waits tables and does what she needs to make ends meet," she said. "She's nice to everyone and just there for me whenever I need her."

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